Leighton Trent’s review:

Simple, but sharp, An Education gives us a glimpse into the early 60's of London as a young girl tries to decide how she wants to live her life. The cast is amazing and Carey Mulligan is superb (a breathtaking, confident performance). Whereas that kind of large cast usually takes away from the lead who may not be well-known, they only enhance here giving one of the best ensemble performances I've seen in a while; Molina, Thompson and Pike give stand-out work. The writing from Nick Hornby is terrific, there is never once a false note. Finally, Sherfig is so assured within her vision that we hardly notice her, yet if any man had made this, the soul of the film would've been lost. A terrific film.